The beverage world today is largely possessed by bottled water contained in plastic bottles having virtually identical removable caps. Such caps are removed by twistable action, leaving a band or collar behind as the cap is removed, while simultaneously providing access for drinking to the top of the bottle. Beverages also comprise pre-mixed drinks with a plurality of different designs, requiring, among other things, refrigeration, dates of expiration and other indicators related to the shelf-life of the beverage.
Well known in the art are water-soluble drink mixes that are sold in solid form. The consumer measures quantities of the dry material, adds the quantities in the proper ratio to water, and creates a flavored beverage. In these embodiments, the consumer is required to modulate the quantities, and mistakes result in under- or over-flavored mixtures.
It is important to maintain freshness of fluid-based products. This is particularly important when the material to be dispensed is vitamin-based, since it is known that water-miscible vitamins can lose their potency over time when in a fluid environment, through changes in, inter alia, temperature, pressure, and light. In addition, fluid-based products can interact with plastic bottles, causing an unpleasant taste and comprising the health of the user. Glass bottles are thus required, which are more expensive and much heavier.
Heretofore unknown in the art, is a universal cap design that contains dry or concentrated materials including, e.g., vitamins, drink mixes and other flavors, such that the cap is capable of utilization with any number of fluid containers, predominantly water, without the need for modification of the existing, standard, plastic bottle design. In other words, once the pre-existing cap is removed, the new cap, containing the materials, can be retrofittedly installed upon the bottle top, dispensing the materials into the fluid. The result can be shaken and the completed beverage created moments before consumption.
Known devices include U.S. Publication No. 2003/0072850 to Burniski, U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,795 to Mollstram, U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,017 to Kang, U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,142 to DiPalma, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,859,898 to Mendenhall. These devices, however, incorporate convoluted mechanisms that do not permit retrofitting to pre-existing bottle designs, and rather have cumbersome mechanisms for rotation and dispensation. Moreover, from the practical consumer vantage point, at purchase point, both an associated cap and fluid product must be acquired in pre-packaged form. Unknown is the disassociation of the two, permitting the consumer to purchase, independently, caps with a plurality of different materials contained therein, and standard, plastic fluid bottles.
It is thus an object of the instant invention to provide a universal, single-use cap containing materials for attachment to pre-existing fluid containers to permit dispensation of materials thereby maintaining the freshness of the beverage.
It is a further object of the instant invention to provide a universal cap in a plurality of different flavors for single-use attachment to pre-existing fluid containers, for simple access by a consumer.
It is a still further object of the instant invention to provide a plurality of universal caps having different materials, like vitamins, contained therein, such that consumers can independently purchase such caps from the decision to purchase their favorite forms of beverages, like water.
It is a still additional and further object of the instant invention to provide a plurality of universal caps having different flavors, like teas, contained therein, such that consumers can have fresh tea products in their favorite form of bottled water.